[Reader-list] Re: [FSF India] Re: WB Govt ties up with MSFT

[Joy Chatterjee]

>This otherwise well-crafted draft letter is incomplete if it does not
>mention the most important point about Free Software, namely
>FREEDOM. After all, it is being written to a democratically elected
>State Government and the "Right to Freedom" is a fundamental right
>enshrined in our Constitution; in particular, article 19, Freedom of
>Speech and Expression.


Few examples of freedom:

Freedom of expression

Attack on media
Author: Barun Sengupta,
Publication: BJP Today
Date: September 16-30, 2000

Venting anger against the scribes - more often than not, in the most 
violent and abusive ways- is nothing new in this country. West Bengal is no 
exception in this regard and inspite of taking pride for an above-average 
political maturity, it has a long record of misconduct with the media. In 
my early days as a journalist, I experienced one such worst incident. At 
that time, CPM was deadly opposed to Anandabazar Patrika. The party 
chieftains were calling for a mass boycott of Patrika and at different 
places, the selling of the newspaper was forcefully being restricted. The 
final eruption occurred in Jadavpur on an early morning, when the delivery 
van of Anandabazar Patrika was attacked and set to fire by the CPM 
activists. Among the several staffs locked inside the ill-fated van, one 
succumbed to death. The whole state was shell-shocked at the viciousness of 
the attack. Even staunch supporters of CPM had to hide their faces at that 
incident.
In 1953, it was the police who did it all against the journalists. In an 
attack on the agitators protesting against the hike in tram fares, even the 
journalists were not spared. 18 newsmen got injured, two of them serious 
and six others were roughed up in police headquarters. The then 
minister-in-charge of the police department, himself had to rush to the 
Lalbazar police headquarters and apologise to the journalists. Arrangements 
were made for the treatment of the injured ones. Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the 
then Chief Minister, personally spoke to the management of the Patrika and 
Yugantar and tendered his apology. A retired judge of Calcutta High Court 
S.K.Ghosh was appointed to inquire into the incident. The entire journalist 
community in Calcutta raised its voice against the police brutality. Even 
the employees of the daily "Janasevak", the mouth-piece of Congress in West 
Bengal, whose editor was none else than Atulya Ghosh, participated in the 
rally.
In 1969 I was working in Anandabazar Patrika, when our office came under a 
severe attack by the red-eyed marxists. It was during the United Front 
regime and Ajoy Mukherjee was the CM. Subodh Banerjee, whose SUCI was a 
member of the government, came to our office and condemned such violence. 
Noted CPI leader Somnath Lahiri strongly criticised this attack in a U F 
rally, which was also attended by Harekrishna Konar and Jyoti Basu. What an 
irony!
The upsurge of the Naxalite movement in Bengal further added to the plight 
of journalists. Rakhal Naha, the Howrah correspondent of Anandabazar 
Patrika, was brutally murdered by the bloodthirsty ultra lefts. However, I 
had always had an opinion, that, the Naxalites never wanted to target the 
entire journalist community. Otherwise, I would never have been spared, 
inspite of writing against them for so many times.
However in my entire life as a journalist, one incident will always stand 
as a nightmare. Jyoti Basu was the deputy chief minister at that time One 
day we got a tip that Jyoti Basu would be having a private meeting with the 
noted industrialist B. M. Birla. But we knew neither the time nor the 
venue. So the moment his car came out of the Assembly, we decided to follow 
him. However, after a certain point, his car managed to shake us off. Next 
morning an angry Jyoti Basu lambasted the reporters and said that he could 
have easily asked the local hoodlums to teach the journalists who had 
followed him a lesson. Even a left- minded scribe like Bhawani Chowdhary of 
the Statesman, was dumb-struck by the audacity of Jyoti Basu.
The first major confrontation between the journalists and the 
administration after the left front came into power happened in 1981. 
Police had just mounted a major operation against the refugees from East 
Bengal, who were trying to settle down in Marichjhanpi, near Calcutta. 
While returning from there after covering the event, journalists were 
arrested. The state government justified this arrest by saying that 
Marichjhanpi being situated in the reserve forest area, these journalists 
had entered a prohibited area without proper permission.
Even in 1990, the press had to suffer the wrath of the ruling marxists, 
while covering the Calcutta civic polls. The reports and photographs of 
open movements of arms and massive rigging during the election, were the 
reasons of such an anger.
On 7 January 1993, Ms Mamta Banerjee was virtually grabbed and thrown out 
of Writers Building, when she went to meet the CM along wit h a deaf and 
dumb girl who had been tortured. Several reporters were there and were 
beaten up. The very night the press corner of Writers Building was demolished.
The most organised and venomous attack on newspapers was during the 
emergency and there was a regular effort to disrupt publication and 
circulation of newspapers. Indira Gandhi and her henchmen left no stone 
unturned to make the lives of newspersons miserable.
In West Bengal , it was the tenure of Sidharth Shankar Ray, a man who could 
stand no criticism from the media when the emergency was imposed. Many 
journalists were detained under the MISA act. Anandabazar Patrika had to 
suffer the most and I too was arrested and taken to Presidency jail from 
where I was shifted to Alipur jail and was offered immediate release if I 
would promise to write in favour of the Congress government. On my refusal 
they shifted me to Purulia jail and then to Bankura jail.
Currently the CPM is facing a decline in its mass base which is visible in 
the recent electoral results. Today, television has exposed the 
booth-jamming, false-voting and many other electoral malpractices which 
confirm what the print media has been writing for the last few decades. The 
fear of getting exposed in front of a television camera has created a 
genuine panic among the party and the outcome is attack on TV crews and the 
expected silence of the police. During the Congress regime, CPM leaders 
were always vocal against any attack on the journalists which is missing 
now. Rather some politicians are fueling the outrage.
In the days to come, the anti-left wave is going to gather momentum in West 
Bengal. Hence, the media will be taking a much stronger tone of criticism 
against the left government. But, that will definitely expose it to a more 
violent and turbulent treatment in the days to come.
(Barun Sengupta, the founder and the editor of Bartaman, the virbrant 
Bengali daily)

Freedom of living

Mamata attacks state-police conspiracy
By A Staff Reporter
http://www.netguruindia.com/news/apr01/30/cal4.html

April 29: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the 
police are not allowing thousands of homeless supporters of her party to 
return to their homes in Midnapur district, sources said today.

"Apart from threatening thousands of our supporters against returning to 
their homes, the police are also working against our election campaigns at 
Garbeta East, Keshpur, Pingla, Sabang and Pataspur constituencies," 
Banerjee alleged at an election campaign in Midnapur on Saturday. "After 
out candidates came out in flying colours in the last Lok Sabha elections, 
CPI (M)'s 'gunmen' in coordination with the police drove our supporters out 
of their homes in Midnapur by means of largescale violence and terror. The 
state government and the police minister are the masterminds of those 
attacks on Trinamool supporters," Banerjee said. Chief minister Buddhadeb 
Bhattacharjee is also the state police minister.

Strongly urging her 'mothers and sisters' not to vote in favour of the 
'terrorist' CPI (M), the TC supremo said, "They are trying to kill me. But 
I am whirling around the state without caring a damn about that. Fear will 
reach us nowhere. Without being killed 365 days, give the CPI (M) a 
befitting reply to its terror on 10 May (the day the state will go to the 
Assembly polls). If you cast your vote in favour of any party, that will 
mean you are casting it in favour of the CPI (M). for God's sake, don't 
commit that mistake."
----------
Note: On the 1st August 2001 (much after the election) Ananda Bazar Patrika 
(Bengali Newspaper) carries a news that the Chief Minister of West Bengal 
has promised to help Trinamul Congress supporters to go back to their 
villages. This actually confirms Mamata Banerjee's allegation.

Freedom of teaching
MONKS DEFY DIKTAT ON TEACHERS
BY MITA MUKHERJEE
Calcutta, Aug. 7: The telegraph

The government move to teach the Ramakrishna Mission schools a lesson or 
two about recruiting teachers has set the stage for another showdown.
Three years ago, the government had stopped providing financial assistance 
to two Mission-run primary schools in Calcutta after the monks had refused 
to discontinue the teaching of English or allow the government the right to 
appoint heads of such schools.
This time, the education department has directed the Mission authorities to 
“fill vacant teaching posts with candidates recommended by the school 
service commission”. The monks have opposed the fiat, labelling it a 
government move to pack their schools with “Left Front faithfuls”.
In a demonstration of defiance, the Mission authorities have conveyed to 
the government their decision to fill vacant teaching posts in their 
Baranagar school with candidates from the employment exchange.
“We have just been made aware of the government’s decision, which is not in 
tune with the system we have been following for years. We have asked our 
superiors at Belur Math to take it up with the government. This decision 
calls for wider discussions among the heads of institutions,” said Swami 
Sanatanananda Maharaj, secretary of Baranagar Ramakrishna Mission, on Tuesday.
“It is not possible for us to allow the Ramakrishna Mission schools to 
recruit teachers through the employment exchange. Like all other schools, 
they will have to go to the commission. They cannot claim to be the sole 
beneficiary of a special system,” retorted school education minister Kanti 
Biswas.
The education department “underwrites” the cost of salaries of teachers of 
all Mission schools, along with those of their counterparts in other 
institutions. Also, the Act governing the school service commission 
precludes any institution availing of government funds for meeting the 
teachers’ wage bill from following an “exclusive system” of recruitment.
“The Act was formulated by our law-makers. There is no such provision in 
the Act by which we can allow the Mission schools to enjoy this benefit,” 
added Biswas. “Only schools in the defined category of minority 
institutions can follow an exclusive teachers’ recruitment system. But the 
Mission schools have ceased to be in that category following a Supreme 
Court directive.”
The monks are “completely against” the government move, as they believe 
teachers recruited through the school service commission, who are “often 
just graduates”, will make it difficult for them to “maintain high academic 
standards” in the long run.
The state school service commission was set up in 1999 to recruit teachers 
for state-funded schools. The Mission-run institutions have, however, 
continued to recruit teachers through employment exchanges.
Education department officials have confirmed that the option of stopping 
assistance, in terms of teachers’ salaries at Mission schools, is being 
looked at. “We have written to the RKM authorities regarding this,” an 
official said.

Freedom of health
A GENERATION LOST TO LEAD FROM FUEL FUMES
BY KUNAL SENGUPTA
Calcutta, Aug. 7: The telegraph
Calcutta’s children, especially those studying in schools located on busy 
streets, are suffering from “very high lead content in their blood”. The 
contamination is being squarely blamed on the leaded petrol used by 
automobiles.
A study, concluded in March 2001, has chronicled a toxic profile of the 
blood collected from 310 city children. The findings of the survey, 
sponsored by the state environment department and conducted by the Regional 
Occupational Health Centre, are alarming.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) safe range of blood spans from 0.5µg/dL 
(micrograms per decilitre) to 1.0 µg/dL. In Calcutta, a significant 
percentage of the sampled children had blood-lead levels up to 15 µg/dL and 
more.
Research indicates that blood-lead levels of 10 µg/dL in children result in 
“lowered intelligence, reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, 
reduced attention span and hyperactivity”. It can also cause anaemia and 
affect the nervous, endocrine, renal and reproductive systems, besides 
causing cause respiratory problems, especially in winter.
The aim of the survey was to target children studying in schools located 
near “busy traffic intersections” in the city.
The authorities of eight city schools — three each in central and north 
Calcutta and two in south Calcutta — and three in Howrah agreed to let the 
researchers collect blood samples.
In Calcutta, 310 blood samples taken from children aged between 10 to 12 
years.
In the three rural schools of Howrah, 161 samples were collected and the 
blood lead level average was pegged at 6.6 µg/dL.
The blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Occupational 
Health in Ahmedabad, which is the WHO reference laboratory for lead 
monitoring. The alarming results were made available recently.
Even though the switchover to unleaded fuel was officially made in January 
2000, the damage has already been done.
Experts feel that more than 90 per cent of the lead-contamination of blood 
came from petrol before the makeover. The state environment department 
plans to run a similar survey a few years later to gauge the impact of the 
makeover to lead-free petrol.
In the United States, the switch to lead-free petrol was completed by 1995. 
Consequently, average blood-lead levels in children dropped from 16.5 µg/dL 
between 1976 and 1980 to 3.6 µg/dL between 1992 and 1994. The United 
States, as a whole, saw a decline of 78 per cent.
Blood lead continued to remain in America’s children as contamination comes 
from deteriorated lead paint and through drinking water contaminated by 
pipes and fixtures containing lead. In India, however, lime-based, rather 
than lead-based, paint is more commonly used.
Also, drinking water pipes are made mostly of iron and polymers nowadays. 
So, leaded petrol is where the problem lies.

Freedom of privacy

CAMERAS PLAY MONITOR IN CLASSROOMS
BY MADHUMITA BHATTACHARYYA
Calcutta, Aug. 7: The telegraph
He knows when you are sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows when you’ve been bad or good
So be good, for goodness sake!
Not Santa Claus, this time. City schools are adopting the Big Brother 
approach to “improve academic services and security”.
Salt Lake’s St Francis Xavier’s School and North Point Senior Secondary 
Boarding School in Teghoria have installed sophisticated surveillance 
camera networks on campus. St Francis Xavier’s, a co-educational school, 
has opted to instal a close-circuit television system to “improve the 
school’s results”. Twenty-three cameras, with an audio set-up for public 
address, have been installed by Vijay Eleks Corporation on an “experimental 
basis” in classrooms, corridors, playground and even the staff room. “We 
want to keep a closer watch on students. This way, we can see which 
children are inattentive or if classes are being disrupted.” It provides 
the added function of “ensuring syllabi are completed and taught in the 
correct fashion,” says principal Sheela Chopra. “Last year’s ICSE results 
were very disappointing, with a failure rate of around 24 per cent. This 
surveillance system should help us improve,” school administrator G. C. 
Bahuguna adds.
The camera in the staff room is being removed, following “objections” from 
some faculty members. But the kids seem least bothered about being watched. 
“If this improves results, we are happy,” smiles Class X student Abhilasha. 
“It has reduced the amount of cheating during tests, too,” chips in Vinay. 
While students have become “more cautious” in the classroom, they “ignore” 
the bubble-lens when on the playground.
North Point has fitted eight cameras in the main school building and three 
in the hostel. The network is monitored from the office of 
founder-secretary Meena Sethi Mondal. “It helps to control the school, with 
1,200 students from Lower Nursery to Class XII, in a more disciplined 
manner,” she feels. “The reaction has been very positive... When we have 
such technology at our disposal, why not use it?”
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